Space Station Robotic Arm Receives New Grappling Hand in Challenging 7-Hour Spacewalk

Two U.S. spacewalkers successfully changed out a grappling mechanism on the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 on Tuesday, essentially giving the Station’s most important robotic asset a brand new hand to continue grasping external hardware and visiting spacecraft until the end of the ISS program.

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ISS Spacewalkers set for Critical Robotic Arm Upgrade via Second LEE Replacement

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are gearing up for a pair of spacewalks on January 23 and 29 to complete the rejuvenation of the Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm by replacing its second Latching End Effector to ensure the critical robotic asset remains in working order for capturing visiting vehicles, moving large equipment and carrying spacewalkers during complex EVA scenarios.

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Single-Booster Atlas V Fires into the Night with Final Building Block of U.S. Missile Warning System

The final building block in a critical global missile warning system operated by the Pentagon took flight on Friday atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket blasting off into the night over Florida’s Cape Canaveral.

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Photos: Asymmetrical Atlas V Blazes into the Night with SBIRS GEO-4

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket, flying with a single Solid Rocket Booster, lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 41 at 0:48 UTC on January 20, 2018 with the fourth satellite of the Space Based Infrared System

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China’s CZ-11 Quick-Response Rocket Launches Jilin Video Satellites, CubeSats for China & Canada

China continued its January launch frenzy on Friday with a tube-launched Long March 11 rocket blasting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 4:12 UTC with a group of six satellites – five from China and one from Canadian start-up company Kepler Communications.

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Atlas V Rocket Poised for Nighttime Liftoff with Fourth SBIRS Missile Warning Satellite

A ULA Atlas V rocket rolled to its Cape Canaveral Launch Pad on Wednesday in preparation for a thunderous nighttime liftoff on Thursday to lift the fourth SBIRS missile-warning satellite into orbit to complete a constellation capable of spotting anything from tactical missiles to tracking the path of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.

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Pre-Dawn Epsilon Liftoff Sends Japanese Radar-Imaging Satellite into Orbit

Japan’s third Epsilon rocket fired into the pre-dawn skies over Kyushu Island Thursday morning, carrying into orbit the ASNARO-2 radar-imaging satellite setting out to demonstrate a compact satellite platform capable of hosting high-performance instruments matching large flagship satellite missions in data quality.

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Photos: Japan’s Epsilon Rocket Soars into the Night with ASNARO-2 Radar Satellite

Japan’s third Epsilon rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center on Kyushu Island at 21:06:11 UTC on January 17, 2018 with the ASNARO-2 radar-imaging satellite joining a program dedicated to the creation of a high-performance small satellite platform that can match the capabilities of flagship satellite missions.

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Video: Epsilon Rocket Launches ASNARO-2 Radar Satellite

Japan’s third Epsilon rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center on Kyushu Island at 21:06:11 UTC on January 17, 2018 with the ASNARO-2 radar-imaging satellite joining a program dedicated to the creation of a high-performance small satellite platform that can match the capabilities of flagship satellite missions.

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Classified NROL-47 Found in Orbit by Satellite Trackers, Identity Confirmed as Topaz 5

The classified NROL-47 satellite launched by a Delta IV rocket on Friday had barely made its first lap around Earth when its identity as a radar reconnaissance satellite was revealed by amateur satellite trackers listening to the spacecraft’s radio transmissions, found to be in family with predecessor missions of the same kind.

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No Signs of Life from Russian-built AngoSat, Troubleshooting to Resume in April

The Russian-built AngoSat-1 communications satellite launched into orbit on December 26 has not shown any signs of life despite reports of communications with the satellite being restored after a temporary outage immediately after its arrival in a drift orbit above the equator.

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